FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Rick Fisher
816.931.3338
hmc@hmckc.org
For Tickets: 816.931.3338 or hmckc.org
Heartland Men’s Chorus’ 33rd Season Continues
With “Stonewall 50: All of Us” Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Gay Rights Movement.
Performance to include Quiet No More
commissioned by 20 Gay Choruses Nationwide.
HMC to Perform World Premiere March 23-24, 2019 at Folly Theater
KANSAS CITY, MO (January 29, 2019) — Dustin S. Cates, Artistic Director of Heartland Men’s Chorus (HMC), announced Friday that HMC would indeed premiere the work, Quiet No More: A Choral Celebration of Stonewall 50, commissioned by the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, Heartland Men’s Chorus and 17 other GALA Choruses throughout the United States. “Even with all the show stopping productions we’ve done,” said Cates, “in our 33 years, we’ve not done something THIS BIG,” he said with emphasis. “Produced by two dozen gay choruses, including THE BIGGEST gay choruses in the U.S., and WE get to perform it FIRST! It’s quite an honor. We are basically telling the story of the Gay Rights Movement through song, poetry, pictures and videos.” But HMC’s Spring Concert, called “Stonewall 50: All of Us,” is more than the story of the six days of Stonewall. It is also a show created to change hearts and minds through an uplifting celebration of life.
“Stonewall 50: All of Us” – March 23-24, 2019 at The Folly Theater
Scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, March 23-24, 2019, in the newly renovated Folly Theater, HMC will begin the concert with a celebration for “All of Us!” “With a variety of song styles and production elements, this concert is designed to help you forget the weird wild world we all get to experience every day and celebrate what it means to be alive,” said HMC Executive Director Rick Fisher.
The moving concert opens with a crowd and chorus favorite, “This is Me,” arranged by Tim Sarsany. The perfect beginning for “Stonewall 50,” “‘This is Me’ is a powerful story of self-acceptance; it’s an anthem for the marginalized, disenfranchised, the bullied and the outcast,” said Fisher. “’This Is Me’ is all about standing up for yourself, being proud of who you are, and accepting yourself with all your insecurities,” continued Cates. “It’s about stepping out from the shadows, not with hesitation, but bravely, boldly, proudly.” “There’s a defiance in this song,” furthered Cates, “that signifies the start of that journey towards self-acceptance. You get a real sense in this song that after years of being ground down and mistreated, it’s about reaching a point where you’re not going to take it anymore. This is not about trying to change you, but changing how you feel about yourself and your place in the world. We felt there couldn’t be a better message to kick off our celebration of Stonewall.”
The first act continues with similar songs of celebration and inspiration to continue the fight . . . songs like:
The Song We Sing by Jake Narverud
Sanctuary by Ola Gjeillo
You Will Be Found by Pasek & Paul
Music in the Air Arr. Ryan Murphy
1000 Beautiful Things, Arr. Tim Sarsany
Way Ahead of My Time, Arr. Jake Narverud
Also joining HMC in this celebration of inclusion are two LGBTQ+ choral groups in Kansas City, Choral Spectrum and “Heartsong,” a subgroup of Kansas City Women’s Chorus.
Newly formed in 2018, Choral Spectrum is a mixed chorus for both male and female voices that serves the LGBTQ+ community, including straight allies, and performs all types of music from classical to pop to spiritual to secular. “Heartsong” of Kansas City Women’s Chorus is a special a cappella group of singers whose main purpose is to serve as ambassadors to the community. They also perform as part of KCWC’s main stage concerts. Kansas City Women’s Chorus was founded in 1999 and today performs with 100+ women from diverse ages, ethnicities and religious backgrounds. According to Choral Spectrum Artistic Director and Conductor, Dr. Michael Robert Patch, “LGBT choirs came from a need for social activism. Many of those same issues still persist today. LGBT choirs are also a place of community. They are a place where people can be who they truly are. In some ways, the music is secondary to the power that is ignited when people of like minds come together for a cause. The music is the vehicle for that power. We can use music to touch people in meaningful ways. And, the stories we tell through song can help to guide the audience to learn and grow while also being entertained.”
WORLD PREMIERE EVENT – “Quiet No More”
The second half of the concert features the WORLD PREMIERE of Quiet No More: A Choral Celebration of Stonewall 50. This eight-movement work is co-commissioned by LGBTQ+ choruses from across the U.S., including project co-founders, Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles and New York City Gay Men’s Chorus. It is the largest collaboration in the history of LGBTQ choruses. The New York performance at Carnegie Hall on June 27th, 2019, will be one night before the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and will include more than 400 singers gathering from 20 choruses across the country on stage in Carnegie Hall.
Quiet No More was written to commemorate the Stonewall rebellion, widely seen as one of the most pivotal moments in LGBTQ+ history. It not only tells the story of the Stonewall Inn that took place in New York City on June 28, 1969, but more importantly, celebrates the vast legacy and worldwide change that started from those events that June. The protests at Stonewall lit the fire for PRIDE, the effects of which are still as vital today as they were 50 years ago. Quiet No More honors the courage of those pioneers for social justice and equality; it encourages each of us to join in the renewed spirit of resistance for the future; and, most importantly, it sings for all of us. Stonewall may have sparked an uprising, but the movement continues to this day, not just for LGBTQ+ individuals, but for all victims of bullying, hate, intolerance, and violence.
Quiet No More features the voices of six diverse LGBTQ composers, including:
- Michael Shaieb – Co-Founder of FatLab, composer of Through a Glass Darkly and Composer for theatre, film, TV
- Our Lady J – American classical pianist, TV writer, singer & song-writer of Pose & Transparent
- Julian Hornik – Composer of Dear Evan Hansen, lyricist & librettist based in Brooklyn, NY
- Ann Hampton Callaway – Jazz singer, songwriter, actress
- Michael McElroy – Broadway Inspirational Voices, Composer, Tony Nominee & College Professor
- Jane Ramseyer Miller – Artistic Director of GALA Choruses & One Voice Mixed Chorus
The work will have some classical elements but will also feature musical theater, jazz and other popular styles, with women and other minority composers central to the project. One movement will contain a newly composed anthem that all choruses involved in the project will sing and record on YouTube with the goal of creating a national social media campaign to take place in May and June 2019. In addition, some members of HMC will travel to Los Angeles and New York in June 2019 when the two co-commissioners present the work to create the multi-choir massed performances in both cities. “We’ve had a number of our members indicate their desire to be a part of the Carnegie Hall performance. We anticipate the entire “Stonewall” song cycle to be an extremely moving and uplifting experience for all of us, individually and certainly collectively,” said Fisher.
Quiet No More: A Choral Celebration of Stonewall is the keynote happening of the first ever World Pride month in New York, and has been publicized as “the Pride Month event you can’t miss.”
Stonewall 50: All of Us combines the Stonewall story with previously unheard voices and the latest historical insights. It will be balanced with the stories of The Stonewall Inn’s lasting impact, combining the work with messages of love, acceptance, joy and celebration, in a collaborative effort whose size has never before been experienced in the LGBTQ+ community.
Pre-Show Talk Featuring Stuart Hinds
30 minutes prior to each performance of “Stonewall 50,“ Stuart Hinds, Assistant Dean for Special Collections and Archives at UMKC, and the Curator of the GLAMA (Gay & Lesbian Archive of Mid-America) Collection, will discuss the surprisingly pivotal role of Kansas City in the national struggle for gay and lesbian civil rights before the 1969 Stonewall uprising. He will also touch on Kansas City’s very active social scene during the same period. This interesting talk is offered at no additional charge to those having purchased a concert ticket.
Tickets to Stonewall 50: All of Us at the newly renovated Folly Theater are available online at https://hmckc.org/tickets/ or by calling 816-931-3338. Prices range from $18 to $43 with special student pricing at $7.
Honoring the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising
/in PressLibby Hanssen | KC Studio
February 27, 2019
Heartland Men’s Chorus Presents World Premiere of “Quiet No More: A Choral Celebration of Stonewall 50”
In March, the Heartland Men’s Chorus honors the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising as they present the world premiere of “Quiet No More: A Choral Celebration of Stonewall 50.”
Co-commissioned with the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus and Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, along with over 20 other ensembles, it is the largest co-commissioned project in the history of gay and lesbian choruses.
The eight-movement work, from six composers, honors the events (sometimes termed “riots,” while others prefer “uprising”) that occurred in and around Greenwich Village’s Stonewall Inn. It began June 28, 1969, when a police raid on a gay-friendly bar turned into nights of protests, lighting the flame for LGBT activism. Every year since, the anniversary of the gay liberation movement is marked by Gay Pride Marches in New York City and across the world.
Instead of recreating the timeline of events, the work “celebrates the big ideas Stonewall stands for,” said Dustin Cates, artistic director of the Heartland Men’s Chorus.
“‘Quiet No More’ is starting in the heart of the country, which I think has some symbolism,” said Cates. Predating Stonewall, LGBT rights activists from across the country met in Kansas City in 1966 for the National Planning Conference of Homophile Organizations, the first nationwide meeting of this kind. Today, a historical marker in Barney Allis Plaza designates this meeting. “Some say the gay rights movement began (here),” said Cates, “and that Stonewall is where it took off.”
Jason Cannon is one of the forces behind the creation of “Quiet No More.” He sang with the NYCGMC for 15 years but has since taken a more behind-the-scenes role, writing and directing. He spearheaded the research, which took nine months, and wrote the creative brief for the composers, as well as the dialogue between the works, which serves to set the stage for Greenwich Village in 1969.
“It was fascinating to take a deep dive into the nuances of this event that happened in 1969,” said Cannon. “I have always heard about the uprising in broad terms, and it was interesting to dive into the details. The weather was very hot on the night of the uprising, there was a full moon, the bouncer at Stonewall would flash lights on the dance floor to signal that the cops were in the lobby.”
“What I learned was that it was not an easy thing to trace. A lot of the people who had been at the uprising are no longer living. And because there was such a whirlwind of activity, even amongst people who were there, there are disputes about what actually happened.
“It’s still a little bit of a mystery and we try to maintain some of that mystery. We decided it wasn’t our job necessarily to solve the puzzle, but we did our best to take what the historians had pieced together and present it in a way we thought the audience can try to experience,” said Cannon.
He likens the performance more to a radio play than a historical documentary, letting the music and words facilitate the audience’s imagination. “It was more of a goal to place the audience into, as best we could, some sort of experience that emulates what happened, and let them decide where they would have been standing at that time,” he said.
“Quiet No More” includes contributions from Michael Shaieb, Our Lady J, Julian Hornik, Michael McElroy, Ann Hampton Callaway and Jane Ramseyer Miller, familiar forces in the LGBT chorus world and beyond.
This method, said Cannon, brings together different points of view, different voices and different music styles. “We gave these composers a lot of creative license. We really wanted their voices to shine through,” he said.
In June, New York City Gay Men’s Chorus performs “Quiet No More” in Carnegie Hall, as part of WorldPride, a month-long celebration of LGBT pride. It’s the first time the international celebration will be held in the United States.
A cohort of 400 singers from choruses across the country joins together in this performance. “We are sending a delegation of our singers . . . there’s no venue big enough for all the members of all the choruses, except maybe Madison Square Garden,” joked Cates. Similarly, a delegation will travel to Los Angeles in July for a performance in Walt Disney Hall that also celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.
Along with “Quiet No More,” HMC performs works that “highlight some things that are uniquely Kansas City and the LGBTQIA community,” said Cates, including the participation of fellow LGBT musical organizations: Heartsong, a small ensemble from the Kansas City Women’s Chorus, and Choral Spectrum, a recently formed Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass (SATB) LGBT chorus.
“The other half of the concert will take a modern day look at the LGBT rights movement, with the narrative that advocacy for these rights is advocacy for the rights of all of us,” Cates said.
Much of that repertoire speaks to the need to live with authenticity and hope, such as “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman;” Annie Lennox’s “A Thousand Beautiful Things;” “You Will Be Found” from “Dear Evan Hanson;” to the more humorous “Way Ahead of My Time.”
That half of the concert closes with “All Of Us” from Craig Hella Johnson’s “Considering Matthew Shepard.” This piece was part of the service at the National Cathedral, where Shepard’s ashes, 20 years after his murder, were interred in October 2018.
Though Stonewall was a violent reaction to injustice, spurred by anger and fear, over the past 50 years this legacy has transformed into a message of unity, perseverance and pride.
Thirty minutes before each performance, Stuart Hinds, Assistant Dean for Special Collections and University Archivist at UMKC, will discuss the pivotal role of Kansas City in the national struggle for gay and lesbian civil rights before the 1969 Stonewall uprising. Hinds will also touch on Kansas City’s very active social scene during the same period.
Heartland Men’s Chorus presents “Stonewall 50: All of Us” March 23 at 8 p.m. and March 24 at 4 p.m. at the Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th St. For information visit hmckc.org.
Michael Shaieb
/in UncategorizedJane Ramseyer Miller
/in UncategorizedAnn Hampton Callaway
/in UncategorizedAnn Hampton Callaway is one of the leading champions of the great American Songbook, having made her mark as a singer, pianist, composer, lyricist, arranger, actress, educator, TV host and producer. A born entertainer, her unique singing style blends jazz and traditional pop, making her a mainstay in concert halls, theaters and jazz clubs as well as in the recording studio, on television, and in film. She is best known for Tony-nominated performance in the hit Broadway musical Swing! and for writing and singing the theme song to the hit TV series The Nanny. Callaway is a Platinum Award winning writer whose songs are featured on seven of Barbra Streisand’s recent CD’s. The only composer to have collaborated with Cole Porter, she has also written songs with Carole King, Rolf Lovland and Barbara Carroll to name a few.
Michael McElroy
/in UncategorizedJulian Hornik
/in UncategorizedOur Lady J
/in UncategorizedHMC Presents “Stonewall 50”
/in Press ReleaseFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Rick Fisher
816.931.3338
hmc@hmckc.org
For Tickets: 816.931.3338 or hmckc.org
Heartland Men’s Chorus’ 33rd Season Continues
With “Stonewall 50: All of Us” Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Gay Rights Movement.
Performance to include Quiet No More
commissioned by 20 Gay Choruses Nationwide.
HMC to Perform World Premiere March 23-24, 2019 at Folly Theater
KANSAS CITY, MO (January 29, 2019) — Dustin S. Cates, Artistic Director of Heartland Men’s Chorus (HMC), announced Friday that HMC would indeed premiere the work, Quiet No More: A Choral Celebration of Stonewall 50, commissioned by the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, Heartland Men’s Chorus and 17 other GALA Choruses throughout the United States. “Even with all the show stopping productions we’ve done,” said Cates, “in our 33 years, we’ve not done something THIS BIG,” he said with emphasis. “Produced by two dozen gay choruses, including THE BIGGEST gay choruses in the U.S., and WE get to perform it FIRST! It’s quite an honor. We are basically telling the story of the Gay Rights Movement through song, poetry, pictures and videos.” But HMC’s Spring Concert, called “Stonewall 50: All of Us,” is more than the story of the six days of Stonewall. It is also a show created to change hearts and minds through an uplifting celebration of life.
“Stonewall 50: All of Us” – March 23-24, 2019 at The Folly Theater
Scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, March 23-24, 2019, in the newly renovated Folly Theater, HMC will begin the concert with a celebration for “All of Us!” “With a variety of song styles and production elements, this concert is designed to help you forget the weird wild world we all get to experience every day and celebrate what it means to be alive,” said HMC Executive Director Rick Fisher.
The moving concert opens with a crowd and chorus favorite, “This is Me,” arranged by Tim Sarsany. The perfect beginning for “Stonewall 50,” “‘This is Me’ is a powerful story of self-acceptance; it’s an anthem for the marginalized, disenfranchised, the bullied and the outcast,” said Fisher. “’This Is Me’ is all about standing up for yourself, being proud of who you are, and accepting yourself with all your insecurities,” continued Cates. “It’s about stepping out from the shadows, not with hesitation, but bravely, boldly, proudly.” “There’s a defiance in this song,” furthered Cates, “that signifies the start of that journey towards self-acceptance. You get a real sense in this song that after years of being ground down and mistreated, it’s about reaching a point where you’re not going to take it anymore. This is not about trying to change you, but changing how you feel about yourself and your place in the world. We felt there couldn’t be a better message to kick off our celebration of Stonewall.”
The first act continues with similar songs of celebration and inspiration to continue the fight . . . songs like:
The Song We Sing by Jake Narverud
Sanctuary by Ola Gjeillo
You Will Be Found by Pasek & Paul
Music in the Air Arr. Ryan Murphy
1000 Beautiful Things, Arr. Tim Sarsany
Way Ahead of My Time, Arr. Jake Narverud
Also joining HMC in this celebration of inclusion are two LGBTQ+ choral groups in Kansas City, Choral Spectrum and “Heartsong,” a subgroup of Kansas City Women’s Chorus.
Newly formed in 2018, Choral Spectrum is a mixed chorus for both male and female voices that serves the LGBTQ+ community, including straight allies, and performs all types of music from classical to pop to spiritual to secular. “Heartsong” of Kansas City Women’s Chorus is a special a cappella group of singers whose main purpose is to serve as ambassadors to the community. They also perform as part of KCWC’s main stage concerts. Kansas City Women’s Chorus was founded in 1999 and today performs with 100+ women from diverse ages, ethnicities and religious backgrounds. According to Choral Spectrum Artistic Director and Conductor, Dr. Michael Robert Patch, “LGBT choirs came from a need for social activism. Many of those same issues still persist today. LGBT choirs are also a place of community. They are a place where people can be who they truly are. In some ways, the music is secondary to the power that is ignited when people of like minds come together for a cause. The music is the vehicle for that power. We can use music to touch people in meaningful ways. And, the stories we tell through song can help to guide the audience to learn and grow while also being entertained.”
WORLD PREMIERE EVENT – “Quiet No More”
The second half of the concert features the WORLD PREMIERE of Quiet No More: A Choral Celebration of Stonewall 50. This eight-movement work is co-commissioned by LGBTQ+ choruses from across the U.S., including project co-founders, Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles and New York City Gay Men’s Chorus. It is the largest collaboration in the history of LGBTQ choruses. The New York performance at Carnegie Hall on June 27th, 2019, will be one night before the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and will include more than 400 singers gathering from 20 choruses across the country on stage in Carnegie Hall.
Quiet No More was written to commemorate the Stonewall rebellion, widely seen as one of the most pivotal moments in LGBTQ+ history. It not only tells the story of the Stonewall Inn that took place in New York City on June 28, 1969, but more importantly, celebrates the vast legacy and worldwide change that started from those events that June. The protests at Stonewall lit the fire for PRIDE, the effects of which are still as vital today as they were 50 years ago. Quiet No More honors the courage of those pioneers for social justice and equality; it encourages each of us to join in the renewed spirit of resistance for the future; and, most importantly, it sings for all of us. Stonewall may have sparked an uprising, but the movement continues to this day, not just for LGBTQ+ individuals, but for all victims of bullying, hate, intolerance, and violence.
Quiet No More features the voices of six diverse LGBTQ composers, including:
The work will have some classical elements but will also feature musical theater, jazz and other popular styles, with women and other minority composers central to the project. One movement will contain a newly composed anthem that all choruses involved in the project will sing and record on YouTube with the goal of creating a national social media campaign to take place in May and June 2019. In addition, some members of HMC will travel to Los Angeles and New York in June 2019 when the two co-commissioners present the work to create the multi-choir massed performances in both cities. “We’ve had a number of our members indicate their desire to be a part of the Carnegie Hall performance. We anticipate the entire “Stonewall” song cycle to be an extremely moving and uplifting experience for all of us, individually and certainly collectively,” said Fisher.
Quiet No More: A Choral Celebration of Stonewall is the keynote happening of the first ever World Pride month in New York, and has been publicized as “the Pride Month event you can’t miss.”
Stonewall 50: All of Us combines the Stonewall story with previously unheard voices and the latest historical insights. It will be balanced with the stories of The Stonewall Inn’s lasting impact, combining the work with messages of love, acceptance, joy and celebration, in a collaborative effort whose size has never before been experienced in the LGBTQ+ community.
Pre-Show Talk Featuring Stuart Hinds
30 minutes prior to each performance of “Stonewall 50,“ Stuart Hinds, Assistant Dean for Special Collections and Archives at UMKC, and the Curator of the GLAMA (Gay & Lesbian Archive of Mid-America) Collection, will discuss the surprisingly pivotal role of Kansas City in the national struggle for gay and lesbian civil rights before the 1969 Stonewall uprising. He will also touch on Kansas City’s very active social scene during the same period. This interesting talk is offered at no additional charge to those having purchased a concert ticket.
Tickets to Stonewall 50: All of Us at the newly renovated Folly Theater are available online at https://hmckc.org/tickets/ or by calling 816-931-3338. Prices range from $18 to $43 with special student pricing at $7.
Matthew Schulte, Board Member
/in BlogI’m down with the crown! Matthew Schulte grew up in Prairie Village, Kansas and studied Sports Management at NYU. As a member of the Heartland Men’s Chorus Board for three years, Matt has aspired to make an impact for Kansas City organizations that excite his passions. “I wanted to find a way to be involved, with not being a singing member.”
His first job was working at Sheridan’s Frozen Custard, scooping ice cream and making shakes and dirt n’ worms! You’ll find him today, 8 ½ years with the Kansas City Royals. Currently, he serves as the Sr. Manager, Special Events & Promotions. In his spare time, he is a real sports enthusiast. He enjoys Skiing, Softball, Tennis, Golf, and a plethora of college sports. He also enjoys movies, Forrest Gump being his favorite, television shows, and has a love for sunflowers.
Wanting to make a difference in Kansas City and its organizations, Matt leaves an impression in all the groups he serves. Just to name a few, Matthew is on the Board of Kansas City Youth Symphony, the Board of Greater Kansas City Attractions Association, and gives of his time to the Centurions Leadership Program. He loves to spread the message everyday of “Be True.”
He chose an interesting and personal way to come out in stages at 25. Matt used an article in the blog OutSports.com. The article since has helped others know that they are not alone, and we all share similar feelings and emotions. “It was a rather public way of coming out, but for me it worked perfectly to tie my connection to sports and to have someone else tell my story.”
Being an Arts enthusiast, he’s a fan of both musicals and classical music. Heartland Men’s Chorus has expanded his musical palate. Although not a singing member, the community and music excellence thrill him. “I have been moved by every show, with a few tears and laughs along the way.”
When asked about powerful and favorite memories of being in Heartland Men’s Chorus, many people answered with a humorous anecdote. That wasn’t the same with Matt. His favorite memory about being in the Chorus was watching the group rally together after the Pulse Night Club shooting. “Seeing the outreach that the Chorus did at that time was powerful and needed.” Heartland Men’s Chorus is lucky to have him on our Board. Meet Matthew Schulte. #RoyalPain
Chuck Comstock, Tenor 2
/in BlogAndrew Lloyd Weber told us “Love Changes Everything.” Our next “From the Heart” individual gives out his love every day. Charles Comstock is a Kansas City native, who is often referred to by his nickname “Chuck.” Chuck has been with the Heartland Men’s Chorus for a total of eight years as a Tenor 2. However, these aren’t consecutive years. Chuck actually was one of the founding members of HMC in 1986; after 20 years living in other cities, he returned to Kansas City and singing with this Chorus in 2015.
As a child, he would often be in the kitchen with his Grandmother; however, as an adult, Chuck was a Preschool Teacher. In his spare time, Chuck enjoys reading, pottery, swimming, as well as assisting with Kansas City organizations, such as AIDSWalk. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird made an obvious impact on Chuck, as it is both his favorite book and movie.
Perhaps the memory nearest to his heart is the day he married Jeff Greek at Niagara Falls. After the ceremony, a stranger came to them crying. This individual expressed the admiration felt to witness the wedding.
A brave man, Chuck answered truthfully and honestly when asked about rumors referring to his sexuality. Shortly after coming out, Chuck joined the Heartland Men’s Chorus. “I love to sing, and I wanted the friendship of gay men.” Being diagnosed as HIV positive, the Chorus gave him mentors on dealing with life and death. Heartland Men’s Chorus has affected him “profoundly.”
Heartland Men’s Chorus is one of the most recognized arts organizations in the Midwest. The Chorus spends a great deal of time together. Through it all, there is nothing better than its shared stories and laughter. “The Chorus is my family.” La Cage Aux Folles describes Chuck in one sentence. “I am who I am.” Meet Charles “Chuck” Comstock. #EclecticHuggingBear